We’ve heard of the Bible Belt in the United States, but did you know there is a Stroke Belt too? The belt is made of the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. Not only is the danger 
higher among people born in the stroke belt, the risk rises even among those people who are born somewhere else and they move to the area. The risk is still higher though, among people originally born in the stroke belt.
Researchers used census data from 49 states, looking at ages and stroke rates. What they found was
The rate of death related to stroke was 74 per 100,000 for people who were born in the stroke belt and lived there in the year 2000, but only 47 per 100,000 for people who were neither born in the stroke belt nor lived there in the year 2000, although this inequality partially reflects differences in age and race.
This part is very interesting, but then things become predictable. The authors wrote that this increased risk likely has a lot to do with lifestyle, meaning diet, sedentary lifestyles, and other socioeconomic factors, something that has been known for a long time already.
What research like this does is that it allows health authorities to target areas that they know are higher risk – and as early as possible, knowing that the risk begins in childhood.
The article was published in the December 1, 2009, issue of the journal Neurology.
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Image: PhotoXpress.com
Post from: Blisstree